Party Like it’s 2003: Emo Nite Hits the Bay

Like it or not, Emo was a generation-defining sub-genre of music for millennials. The genre was popular when we were in middle school or high school — a vulnerable stage in life for most. You may be able to look back to a time when this music got you through serious things — like family problems or the death of someone close — or the not-as-serious-in-hindsight things — like your stepfather asking you to take out the trash (“You’re not my REAL dad, Robert!”) or your girlfriend of five days ending things.

We are living in what what we perceive to be bleak times. If you’re unsatisfied with the present, it seems only natural to want to re-live the past. It’s no wonder that people who came of age in the 2000s are an especially nostalgic bunch. Hell, I’m even nostalgic about what I had for breakfast this morning.

Case in point: Emo Nite. For the past two years, three friends have hosted parties celebrating the genre at various venues around Southern California. Last year, the event found a more permanent home and is hosted at the Echoplex in Los Angeles every month.

Former Emo kids of the Bay Area are in luck: Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco has sporadically held Emo Nites — also known as Taking Back Tuesdays — throughout the last year. The next one is Tuesday, October 11th. The event is 21 and up — which isn’t a problem because those who listened to Emo music no longer need to steal from their parent’s liquor cabinet. Tickets are $9 online and $11 at the door. Cocktails with emo song-title puns are available to purchase.

How does it work? Guest DJs — Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 has DJ’d a few Emo Nites in Los Angeles — play their favorite Emo hits, also incorporating songs gathered from suggestions on each event’s Facebook page. This upcoming Taking Back Tuesday will be DJ’d by an Emo band from the Bay Area called Set Your Goals. It’s a fun night with a community feel that allows you to scream the lyrics and dance to songs that you previously played quietly as a teen in your bedroom, while the rest of your family was asleep.

So if the devil and God are still raging inside you and you’re not okay (you promise), grab your punk rock princess, dance, dance, and makedamnsure to tell all your friends. Just listen to the sound of settling and everything, everything will be alright, alright.

Looking for an adventure this weekend?
Sign up for The Weekender and once a week (no more, no less) we'll send you an email chock full of tips and tidbits to kick-start your planning process. We just need your email.